Trash Rules: What You Can and Can't Rent a Dumpster For

There are a lot of circumstances where it might make sense for you to rent a dumpster. Whether you're a general contractor, renovating your home, cleaning out your garage, or moving away, a dumpster rental can be the most cost-effective way to get rid of a lot of stuff at once.

However, you are not allowed to throw just anything into a dumpster.

While there are general guidelines about what can and cannot go into a dumpster, there also might be local regulations regarding how specific types of waste need to be disposed of.

Let's take a look at what you need to know about what can go in a dumpster and what needs to be gotten rid of through other means.

Before you rent a dumpster, it's a good idea to understand what types of items and materials you can put in a dumpster. Let's take a look at the types of objects that are usually okay to put into a dumpster.

You can put just about any type of furniture in residential dumpster rentals. Things like tables, chairs, and couches are typically allowed to be thrown away in this fashion.

However, certain locations might not allow upholstered furniture and mattresses to be put into landfills. And other locations, there might be an additional fee for throwing away mattresses and furniture. For this reason, it is a good idea to check with your dumpster rental company to make sure you understand which types of furniture are okay.

Most of the general household appliances that you would need to get rid of can be thrown away in a dumpster. However, you'll need to make sure that all of the hazardous fluids and components are removed first.

If you just have a few pieces of residential electronics, such as printers, TVs, or computers, you can typically throw these in a residential dumpster rental. However, if you have tons of electronics to get rid of then you might need to get rid of them as "e-waste."

Some locations might have regulations that forbid electronics from being thrown into dumpsters. You can always check with your roll-off dumpster rental provider to find out whether or not it's allowed.

In most dumpsters, you can throw away branches, trees, grass, brush, or other green waste. Again, though, your local area's regulations might limit how much you are allowed to throw into dumpsters.

You can usually throw away construction debris in a construction dumpster rental, however, heavy materials like asphalt roofing shingles or concrete and brick might require a specific dumpster because of their weight.

Lighter renovation materials like siding, drywall, wooden materials, and other demolition and construction debris can go right into dumpsters. Just be aware of how much weight you are putting into the dumpster, because if you go over the quoted amount you might have to pay extra or remove some of the weight.

Other items like carpeting, curtains, toys, cardboard, old documents, and other non-organic trash can also be put into a dumpster. Basically, things you would feel comfortable throwing away in your household trash can also be thrown away in dumpster rentals.

There are a number of types of items that you can't put into a dumpster, typically because they could cause environmental or other harm. Let's take a look at what you should never throw in your dumpster rental.

Except for latex paints, you cannot throw paint, lacquers, paint thinners, or would things into a roll off dumpster rental.

If you have latex paint that you can't otherwise recycle or reuse, you can pour the paint into a box with shredded paper or kitty litter to allow it to solidify. Once it has hardened and become dry, you can throw it into the dumpster.

When you have empty paint cans that are dry on the inside, you can simply recycle them with other metal objects in your normal fashion.

Most US landfills don't accept tires, so you commonly can't put them in a dumpster. To properly dispose of scrap tires, you can take them to your local tire dealership or auto parts store, or you could find a local recycler who converts the material into rubber mulch or asphalt.

There are a number of types of hazardous wastes that should never be put into a dumpster. These include:

• Household cleaners
• Propane tanks
• Motor oil and other automated fluids
• Pesticides
• Espressos
• Contaminated soil or absorbance
• Ink and resins
• Medical waste

In order to dispose of hazardous materials, look for scheduled community collection events where you can get rid of these types of items in the proper way.

Dry cell batteries and car batteries are objects that also shouldn't be put into a dumpster. The reason for this is that they can cause harm to the environment if they leak chemicals in a landfill.

You can recycle your car batteries by returning them to a local store that sells car batteries. Sometimes you will even receive a deposit for returning a car battery to the location where you purchased it. Dry cell batteries, like AA, AAA, or lithium can typically be dropped off in designated been in many stores.

When you're renovating, remodeling, or landscaping, you're typically going to end up with a lot of waste to deal with. Figuring out how to dispose of all this stuff through your normal trash collection can be a real pain and not worth the time and effort. Renting a roll off containers in Albuquerque, NM is probably the most efficient and cost-effective way to deal with your excess waste.

Do you need to rent a dumpster for your next project? If so, you can get a free quote today!